Drive mechanism



N. M. LOWER DRIVE MECHANISM May 18, 1937.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed July 2, 1928 INVENTOR NathaHM Lou/en ATTORNEY.

May 18, 1937. N. M. LOWER DRIVE MECHANISM Original Filed July 2, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Nathan M. Lower A TTORNEY.

Patented May 18, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRIVE MECHANISM Nathan M. Lower, Tuckahoe, N. Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to The Standard Stoker Company, Inc. (1922), New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware 3 Claims.

My invention relates to mechanical stokers, and especially pertains to sto-kers for locomotives and the like.

This application is a division of my co -pending application, Serial No. 289,774, filed July 2, 1928, for Locomotive stoker, Patent No. 1,947,723, granted'Febmary 20, 1934.

The main object of the present invention is the provision, in locomotive stokers. of the class employing a conveyor extending from the tender to the locomotive firebox, of power drive mechanism of a compact and durable construction, rigidly secured to the locomotive frame underneath the conveyor of the stoker and being separate and apart therefrom, thus permitting power drive mechanism or the parts thereof to be easily removed for the purpose of repair and replacement.

More specific objects of the invention reside in the particular arrangement of and relation between the elements of the stoker conveyor and the power drive mechanism, as will appear from the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the claims annexed thereto.

While, without exceeding the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims, my invention may be embodied in numerous constructional forms, I have described one form thereof, by way of example, in the following specification, and shown the same in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan of a locomotive stoker constructed in accordance with my invention, shown as applied to a locomotive, the fire box of which is indicated in section, the locomotive cab deck and the tender being omitted;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the power drive mechanism with some parts in section and other parts removed to best illustrate the construction;

Fig. 3 is a section takenv on the line 3-3 of Fig.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the conveyor reverse mechanism with the cover removed showing the ratchet wheel and pawl mechanism; and

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the irregular line 6-6-45 of Fig. 2.

The form of stoker herein chosen for description and illustration comprises a tender conduit, the rear portion, 2A, of which is trough shaped and is disposed beneath the fuel hopper of the tender. The conduit is mounted in any well known manner so as to be capable of sliding longitudinally with respect to the tender.

The front end 2E of the tender conduit is enlarged, at 2D, and is formed, beyond such enlargement, so as to produce the ball member 20 of a hollow ball and socket joint. The ball member 20 enters a corresponding socket portion 8 formed at the rear end of a riser conduit 3, a removable cap 38 being associated with the socket portion 8 to complete, with the latter and the ball portion 2C, a ball and socket connection between the tender conduit and the riser conduit 3.

A fuel conveyor screw 1 is rotatably mounted in the tender conduit, and is driven, from its rear end, through gearing 1A by means of a flexible shaft 13 connected by a telescopic and universal joint with a power drive mechanism 4|! which will be hereinafter described in detail. A crusher 20 cooperates with the conveyor screw 1 to. reduce large lumps of fuel to a size more suitable for efiicient firing. The tender conveyor screw 1 drives a second conveyor screw (not shown) which is ro-tatab-ly mounted in the riser conduit 3 and delivers fuel onto the distributor plate 5 located at the firing opening 2 of the firebox I and from which plate the fuel is spread over the firebed. Adjustablewings or vanes 25 control the flow of fuel to the plate 5.

The power drive mechanism 40 comprises a motor of the single cylinder type, the cylinder of which houses a piston I5 which is reciprocable therein to operate a piston rod H. Secured to the piston rod H is a rack gear 4| which is mounted to reciprocate in a housing 40A. At a point remote from the cylinder Hi, the housing 46A is apertured as at and a gear 42 is disposed in the apertured portion and is engaged by the rack gear 4|. A cover casting 49 is secured to the top wall portion of the rack housing 40A and is provided with a depending flange 89 which forms a closure for the rearward side of said housing which is open to permit machining thereof. A portion of this cover casting 49 is provided with a collar 9| which fits over the gear 42 and forms the lower portion of a bearing 12 for the shaft 6| on which the gear 42 is mounted. A second cover casting 60 is placed over the gear 42 and the shaft El and is bolted securely to the first named cover casting 49 and forms therewith a casing for the gear 42 and the other portion of the bearing 72 for the shaft 6|.

The shaft 6| extends rearwardly of the gear 42 toward the tender and. lies transversely to the rack gear 4|. On the rearward portion of the shaft 6| a ratchet wheel 43 is mounted and is engaged by pawls such as 44 carried by the pawl casing 45. As the rack gear 4| reciprocates in the housing A, the gear 42 rotates first in one direction and then in another direction. Motion is transmitted to the pawl casing during one stroke of the piston l5, While during the other stroke, the pawl casing idles. The direction of rotation of the pawl casing 45 is determined by the setting of the pawls 44; the setting of these pawls may be changed at will by the cam shift-f ing collar I6 (Figure 4). The pawl casing is covered by a plate 13 which is firmly secured to the pawl casing 45 and has formed therewith lugs 62 which form one element of a universal joint I4 for driving the flexible shaft '13. The power drive mechanism 40 passes underneath the riser conduit 3 transversely to the locomotive and is rigidly secured to the frame F by suitable bolts passing through the flanges 48 and 56 of the housing 40A and the cover casting 49 respectively. The power drive mechanism is not secured to the riser conduit 3' in any manner and thus whenever it is necessary to overhaul or repair the drive mechanism, it is only necessary to loosen the bolts which hold the drive mechanism to the. frame F. Such a construction greatly expedites repair work and is of great benefit to the railroads in properly maintaining the stoker in a good state of repair.

.From the foregoing, it will be apparent that a novel stoker power drive mechanism has been constructed. The construction and relation. of parts of this drive mechanism is such that it can be cheaply maintained in good running order.

I claim:

1. The combination including a reciprocable rack gear, a. housing for said rack gear, said housing being open along one side thereof and having an aperture inits top wall, an attachment flange formed with the said housing opposite its open side and extending outwardly therefrom in a direction away from said open side, a cover having a plate-like portion closing the open side of said housing and a plate-like portion extending across the top wall of said housing, an

" attachment flange extending outwardly from said cover in a direction opposite said first named flange, said cover having an opening registering with the aperture in said housing top wall, a collar formed with. said cover embracing said opening, a member formed with said collar extending transversely of said rack gear, said member forming the lower portion of a bearing, a shaft mounted in said bearing member, a gear mounted on said shaft in said collar engaging said rack gear, a second cover surmounting said collar and forming with said collar a casing for said gear, and a member formed with said second named cover forming the upper portion of a bearing for said shaft.

2. The combination including a reciprocable rack gear, a housing for said rack gear, said housing being open along one side thereof and having an aperture in its top wall, an attachment flange formed with the said housing opposite its open side and extending outwardly therefrom in a direction away from said open side, a cover having a plate-like portion closing the open side of said housing and a plate-like portion extending across the top wall of said housing, an attachment flange extending outwardly from said cover in a direction opposite said first named flange, said cover having an opening registering with the aperture in said housing top wall, a member formed with said cover adjacent the opening therein extending transversely of said rack gear, said member forming the lower portion of a bearing, a shaft mounted in said bearing member, a gear mounted on said shaft within the confines of the opening in said cover engaging said rack gear, a second cover embracing the opening in said first named cover and forming a casing for said gear, and a member formed with said second named cover forming the upper portion of a bearing for said shaft.

3. A cover for a rack gear housing which includes, when in operative position, a flat top wall, a wall depending from said top wall forming a side wall for said housing, an attachment flange extending outwardly from said depending wall in a direction opposite with respect to said top wall, said top wall being provided with an aperture, a collar rising above said top wall and bounding said aperture, a member extending outwardly from said collar in a direction approximately perpendicular to the plane of said depending wall, said member forming the lower portion of a bearing, a second cover surmounting said collar, and a member formed with said second named cover forming the upper portion of said bearing.

NATHAN M. LOWER. 

